Displaying items by tag: Mark Yonally

Chicago Tap Theatre (CTT) is proud to announce its Founder and Artistic Director Mark Yonally has been selected by the Preservation Committee for the American Tap Dance Foundation to receive the 2026 Hoofer Award. Yonally will accept the honor at the Tap City Awards, Friday, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. at the Bruno Walter Auditorium at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, 111 Amsterdam Ave, New York City. The annual Hoofer Award recognizes prominent tap artists as leaders in the community for their unique contributions to the form and for inspiring future generations. For more information on Yonally and upcoming Chicago Tap Theatre events go to ChicagoTapTheatre.com.

As part of the Tap City Awards, Yonally was given the opportunity to have a performance honoring him. He selected Chicago Tap Theatre, the company he founded, to perform, with guest artist Lisa LaTouche.

The night before the award Yonally, with CTT Artistic Associate Sterling Harris and Rehearsal Director Molly Smith, will present a two hour event, "The Chicago Tap Theatre Connections Lab: Sharing the Repertory and Rhythm of CTT with the NYC Community" at the Rhythmic Arts Center in Harlem, 175 E. 105th St. in New York City.  The class will be followed by an hour-long "Connection" for the NYC tap dance community to learn more about Chicago Tap Theatre, their processes, values and open Company and Apprentice positions.

The Hoofer Award was created in 2001 with the presentation of the inaugural award to the late Gregory Hines. Since then, Hoofer Awards have been presented to fellow Chicago-artists M.A.D.D. Rhythms Bril Barrett, Dean Diggins, Reginald McLaughlin, "Reggio the Hoofer," Ted Levy as well as Ayodele Casel, Lynn Dally, Derick K. Grant, Sarah Petronio and the late Ernest "Brownie" Brown, Buster Brown, Jimmy Slyde and other notable members.

The Tap City Awards honors recipients of the American Tap Dance Foundation's Hoofer, Tap Preservation and International Tap Dance Hall Of Fame Awards. The evening will include surprise guests, archival film clips and live performances, celebrating the rich legacy and vibrant future of tap dance. Yonally, as well as Ali Bradley from Michigan will receive the Hoofer Award. In addition, Buddy Bradley, LaVaughn Robinson and NYC Tapworks will be joining the Tap Dance Hall of Fame and Thelma Goldberg will receive the Preservation Award.

"I am beyond thrilled to have been selected to receive the prestigious Hoofer Award," said Founder and Artistic Director Mark Yonally. "I am still trying to find words that truly express my feelings as I join this list of former Hoofer Award-winners including mentors, idols and contemporaries. My sincerest gratitude goes to the American Tap Dance Foundation for honoring me."

ABOUT MARK YONALLY

Mark Yonally is the founder and artistic director of Chicago Tap Theatre (CTT), a critically acclaimed dance company in Chicago, performing an annual three-show season and touring in America and Europe. CTT's performances have been recognized by the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, SeeChicagoDance.com and Windy City Media, with the 2016 show "TimeSteps" named Best New Production by Dance Magazine Reader's Poll. Yonally is renowned internationally, performing solo in cities like Chicago, Helsinki, Barcelona, New York, Amsterdam and Paris, and has worked with mentors such as Sam Weber and Dianne Walker. He has performed with the Bill Evans Dance Company and Especially Tap Chicago at prestigious festivals, including the St. Louis Tap Festival and the Royal Opera House in Helsinki. His choreography has been commissioned by various dance companies and he collaborates with Valérie Lussac and Guillem Alcalay, teaching annually in Toulouse and Barcelona. He teaches and judges at dance conventions across the United States and is an educator at Oklahoma City University and Hope College. He has published in Dance Spirit, Dance Teacher and Dance Magazine and hosts "The Tea on Tap," featuring interviews with noted tap dancers.

ABOUT CHICAGO TAP THEATRE

Founded in 2002, Chicago Tap Theatre is a growing and vibrant dance company dedicated to preserving the quintessentially American dance form of tap while taking it to the next level of creativity, innovation and quality. CTT performs exclusively with live music provided by some of Chicago's finest musicians playing everything from Duke Ellington to David Bowie and many artists in between. Under the dynamic direction of master teacher and performer Mark Yonally, CTT has gained a loyal and sizable following in Chicago and continues to tour both nationally and internationally. Having pioneered the "tap opera" format, which tells stories with compelling characters and intriguing plots, CTT has used the language of tap dance, live music and narration to move audiences for more than 20 years.

 ABOUT AMERICAN TAP DANCE FOUNDATION

The American Tap Dance Foundation (ATDF) is a non-profit 501c3 organization committed to establishing and legitimizing Tap as a vital component of American dance through creation, presentation, education and preservation.  ATDF is recognized as a local, national and international leader in the field and continues to further three main objectives:

•  to perpetuate Tap as a flourishing contemporary art form on a national and international level,
•  to provide a basis for the growth of tap dance by teaching new generations through comprehensive educational programs and
•  to preserve the artistry of the early generations of tap masters.

With CAN YOU HEAR US NOW? Chicago Tap Theatre presents an original show directed by Molly Smith. CAN YOU HEAR US NOW? featured a series of original choreography from CTT dancers inspired by, referencing, and in honor of historical figures in tap dance and jazz music history from the LGBTQIA+ community. Part archival research project, part live show, this show combined tap history with the state of tap dance today, with a focus on LGBTQIA+ perspectives. The production was a celebration of queer culture and history through the eyes (and shoes) of the dancers themselves.

CAN YOU HEAR US NOW? THE QUEER TAP DANCE REVOLUTION, performed at the Edge Theatre, is Molly Smith's directorial debut, and a fine job she made of it! Each production was choreographed by a Chicago Tap Theatre (CTT) member or apprentice, including Molly herself. Her solo performance, to Lesley Gore’s You Don’t Own Me, was stunning and clearly heartfelt. She further discussed the connection she sees between tap dance and queerness.

Mark Yonally (he/him) is the founder and Artistic Director of Chicago Tap Theatre, one of the most critically well-regarded dance companies in Chicago. They perform an annual three-show season in Chicago and tour throughout both America and Europe. Their performances have been chosen as the Top Ten Dance events of the year by the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, SeeChicagoDance and Windy City Media. CTT’s stated mission is to share the creativity, the history, and the pure joy of tap dance; these were clearly illustrated in CAN YOU HEAR US NOW?

The set was purposefully and effectively nearly neutral; not so the lighting! which was refashioned to enhance each piece.

The intervals between pieces were very short, which was useful for the most part. However, their duration might have been adjusted to coordinate with the mood of the dances, particularly near the end, with more emotionally charged pieces: Molly Smith’s solo, and the dance commemorating our martyrs to the AIDS epidemic. Here the rapid interruptions felt hurried and forced.

For those who love tap dance (and even those who don't know if they like it), the second annual Sweet Tap Chicago performance at City Winery was heaven on earth. It’s a mix of jazz, classic pop, and blues. And it features a dollop of rap, whose wordplay blends beautifully with the percussive sounds of tap shoes.

The Sweet Tap Chicago program is sui generis – its own thing – and the immensely engaging singers Taylor Mallory and JC Brooks lead the audience through a seamless story stitched together from music by a series of Chicago-grounded artists.

Chicago Tap Theatre, a dance school in the Ravenswood neighborhood, trains the performers and produces the event to celebrate the art form. Mark Yonally, the school’s artistic director, choreographed eight, and Kirsten Uttich, rehearsal director four of the 16 numbers, the remainder produced by other troupe members. 

The Sweet Tap Chicago Band, which leans toward jazz and classic pop, is led by bassist Kurt Schweitz (he is also the school’s music director) with Elisa Carlson on keyboard, Bob Parlier on drums, and Corbin Andrick on sax. Music was by Eddie Harris, Chaka Khan, Sonny Rollins, Sam Cooke, even the Smashing Pumpkins and Sonny & Cher, to name a few. 

And those dancers! The Guys’ Groove featured a jazzy male foursome in black jeans in shirts; the Bob Fosse shaded Superstar saw a trio of women each in black derby dancing to Lupe Fiasco’s song with a live rap overlay by Taylor Mallory.

The blockbuster piece brought improvisational duels between five individual dancers and each of the band members, to a mash-up of Curtis Mayfield’s Move On Up and Kanye West’s Touch the Sky. Saxophonist Corbin Andrick gave as good as better than he got in the number – it was way cool. Chicago Tap Theatre stages it's Sweet Sixteen Annual Gala on May 19, 2019 at Chicago Symphony Center. 

The two performances of Sweet Tap Chicago on March 10 also spotlighted the versatility of City Winery’s venue, a cozy room seating 300 for great food, fine wine, and vintage acts that fit the space, like 1980 Grammy winner Christopher Cross who plays City Winery March 19 as part of his Take Me As I Am Tour  City Winery also seeks out rising local talent, and real boon for the local music scene.

Got to admit I was floored to arrive to find Sweet Tap Chicago, a tap dancing show, was packed for its Sunday matinee at Chicago’s City Winery.
The promise that had lured me - jazz and tap dancing together – was borne largely out of curiosity. In fact, the show delivered so much more than jazz – venturing into uncharted territory for tap dance arrangements to a broad survey of musical styles, and all of it rooted in Chicago.

The Sweet Tap Chicago Band (led by bassist Kurt Schweitz, with Bob Parlier, Corbin Andrick, Cole DeGenova, and with singers JC Brooks and Taylor Mallory) delivered fresh arrangements well suited for tap dancers, from Muddy Waters, father of Chicago blues, to Chicagoan Billy Corgin’s Smashing Pumpkins (Today); from CTA (Saturday In the Park) to Wilco (I’m Trying to Break Your Heart). The dance troupe trotted out classic tap routines for some sets, and performed improvisations at other points, delivering percussive footwork retorts to drum and sax solo lines.

One highlight of the performance was versatile singer Taylor Mallory, a music stylist and personable impresario, who was just at home singing a Styx medley, as he was rapping Wanna Be Cool by Donny Trumpet and Chance the Rapper. Rap really pairs well with tap, it turns out. Mallory delivered a rather inspired mash-up of Curtis Mayfield’s Move On Up and Kanye West’s Touch the Sky. (Chicago native Mayfield was a denizen of Cabrini- Green.) And singer JC Brooks was an infectious presence on the stage, especially in a preview of “Get Into the Groove,” from an upcoming Chicago Tap Theatre review based on Madonna songs.

The event also spotlighted the versatility of City’s Winery’s venue, a cozy room seating 300 for great food, fine wine, and vintage acts that fit the space The Zombies  play next week; Joan Armatrading plays there June 9-14 City Winery also curates rising talent, an invaluable service to audiences and the local music scene.

Before Sunday’s show, it had been awhile since I thought about tap dancers – like back to Savion Glover, who singlehandedly resuscitated the form on Broadway in Jelly’s Last Stand (1992) and Bring in Da Noise (1996). Tap dancing hadn’t gone away, really – it had gone a little underground. But in 2002 the Chicago Tap Theatre was formed to nurture and develop it.

Mark Yonally, artistic director and the driving force behind Chicago Tap Theatre, set out with the dance group’s music director Kurt Schweitz to choreograph new pieces set to music from, or inspired by, the city of Chicago, and the musicians associated with this city. The concept was to resurrect the idea of a jazz dance club, and to prove that all music is tap music. Well, mission accomplished. www.chicagocitywinery.com

For those who may have missed this one time show on December 10th, The return of Tidings of Tap, was filled with joy and the love of dance for the 2017 Holiday Season for families, friends and tap lovers of all ages.  Celebrating their 15th Anniversary, Chicago Tap Theatre presents this tapping extravaganza celebrating Chanukah/Christmas and the winter season, performing with a live band directed by Kurt Schweitz. To help celebrate their 15th Anniversary, Chicago Tap Theatre (CTT) is being challenged by The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, to raise and match funds, to support CTT’s mission in producing high quality and innovative tap dance performances and expanding the art form of tap.

The North Shore Center for Performing Arts in Skokie, was the perfect intimate location for this anniversary holiday extravaganza, giving all audience members a perfect view of the dancers, and more importantly their feet. Highlighted throughout the show, the sound of the tappers helped to create and compliment the holiday music featured.  Tidings of Tap includes a syncopated “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer” medley during the Carols number, flicks of flame for Candlelight, anger and frustration for our shoppers during Black Friday and even featuring musical stylings from Artistic Director, Mark Yonally and the live band in, Rest Ye, Man. Besides Yonally, the very talented dancing troupe includes Kirsten Ittich, Jennifer Yonally, Aimee Chause, Isacc Stauffer, Sara Anderson, Sarah Owens, Anabel Watson, Bailey Caves, Chris Matthews, Emily Broeker and Dasha Merkulov.

Tidings of Tap, is a fantastic holiday show, that will keep you smiling from beginning to the Shim Sham end, where all tappers from the audience of all ages are encouraged to join the performers on stage for their final dance of the night.  An inspirational show for the season, for new dancers and to reignite the passion of dancers who continue to shuffle in their seats, Tidings of Tap really does bring in the happiest tidings of the season.

For more information on Chicago Tap Theatre including upcoming events, visit www.chicagotaptheatre.com.

As Chicago Tap Theatre embarks upon their mission to “Shuffle off to Europe” where they will join tap dance companies Tapage and Tap Olé in their home countries to perform Liason, the talented outfit impresses upon its audience yet another fantastic production in its third remount of Changes, a sci-fi adventure set to the music of the late, great David Bowie. In reverence to 1940’s science fiction, seemingly with pages from the old Flash Gordon serials put in play, we get a nasty trio of futuristic villains who have made captive a host of dreamy angels, crippling each by removing their wings, and a hero who must set them free and may only be able to do so by teaching the imprisoned seraphs to fight back (via a tap dance-off, of course).

Artistic Director Mark Yonally’s creative vision is what makes this production such an amazing spectacle. It is visually compelling, thanks to the costume design by Emma Cullimore and its punch-packing choreography, and musically fulfilling as the music chosen behind each dance routine is wisely chosen by Music Director Kurt Schweitz to provide much impact. Kristen Uttich, well cast as the show’s hero, Jennifer Pfaff Yonally as the lead Alliange and Mark Yonally as Altego with Aimee Chase and Heather Latakas as his Henchpeople, lead a gifted ensemble in what turns out to be a pretty engaging story of good versus evil filled with touching moments of beauty, soul and hope and thrilling climaxes when powerful confrontation erupts.

Changes includes many Bowie favorites that are accompanied on strings by Molly Rife and violinist Anna Gillan, who oversee the dancers at the rear of the stage. “Life on Mars” opens the show followed by “Starman” and “Space Oddity” setting the tone for this energetic production that comes with many “wow” moments. Much of Bowie’s music is set to a house mix adding extra thump and larger-than-life tempo, of which I have to wonder was necessary, as opposed to playing the songs in their original recorded versions, my guess being the extra boost provided a clearer pocket for the dancers to perform within or perhaps may have been needed to hear the songs distinctly above the often-thunderous flurry of tap dancing. A feast for Bowie fans, the production also comprises such hits as “Under Pressure” “Changes”, “Ziggy Stardust” and other faves that will have you poking through Spotify to relive the production's many great moments upon exiting the theatre.

Chicago Tap Theatre keeps this commanding form of dance alive, and even in bloom, with one fantastic production after another, Changes being no exception. Thoroughly entertaining from beginning to end, Changes has the perfect combination of dance, music and visuals to make this retro-sci-fi rocket take off.

Changes is being performed at Stage 773 through July 16th. For tickets and/or more show information, or to find out how you can help get this talented dance company to Europe, visit ChicagoTapTheatre.com.